Grandvewe Cheese & Willie Smith's Organic Cider Collaboration

Tasmanians combine to produce an Australian-First

Media release

Two great generational Tasmanian family businesses have joined forces to launch a new cheese product, believed to be the first of its kind in the country.

Willie Smith's and Grandvewe Cheese have produced a new washed rind cheese - uniquely using the renowned Huon Valley organic cider for the wash.

"Washing the rind with cider will mean a completely different set of unknown/wild yeasts will deliver an unknown but more importantly, unique set of flavours," details Cheese Maker Nicole Gilliver.

"Those yeasts are unique to Willie Smith's and until the cheese is fully ripe, we won't officially know what flavour impact they'll have on the cheese.

"No one will be able to replicate this style because the yeasts are unique to Willie's, so too is their relationship with our cheese!"

The cheese will be launched at the Huon Valley Mid-Winter Festival, starting on Friday night and running until Sunday, where Grandvewe Cheese have a stall. It will then be available into the future at The Apple Shed.

Willie Smith's head cider maker Tim Jones says it's another example of innovative Tasmanian businesses working together for the good of the state and its foodie reputation.

"It's a privilege to be working closely with such a high quality, innovative Tasmanian cheese maker," Dr Jones says.

"We are really excited about the merging of our unique wild micro-flora with artisanal Grandvewe cheese and can't wait to taste the outcome."

Grandvewe creates the only domestically produced sheep milk washed rind cheese available on the market in Australia and is the only domestic cheese to be made using a traditional plant thistle rennet from the Cardoon plant - also called the artichoke thistle.

Cardoon imparts bitterness which balances richness in the paste of soft sheep milk cheese and is very typical in Spain and Portugal.

The recipe has taken seven years to develop properly with pasteurised milk.

"We have had to reverse engineer the recipe to make it work because it was previously thought that it wouldn't work with pasteurised milk," explains Ms Gilliver.

"I had been thinking about it for some time and was waiting to find the right partner.

"I love what the guys at Willie Smith's are doing and so from a chance meeting in Brisbane at an event they were hosting earlier this year, we started discussions and set to work."

Regions

Hobart (TAS)

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